What is Procrastination?

So what is procrastination? Basically, procrastination is the act of putting off essential task until a later time, most of the time non essential tasks are done in lieu of the more critical ones. Although this procrastination definition seems pretty simple the effects of procrastination are not. Procrastination may be one of the biggest challenges you will have to overcome.

When you begin to think about today's society, there is less and less time in the day, so it is very important that we manage our time efficiently and limit procrastination as much as possible.

For some reason, we have an emotional reaction when we have to do something we don't want to do, don't enjoy doing, or are convinced we simply cannot do. Learning to acknowledge this reaction will not only make us aware that we may be procrastinating, but will also help us on our quest to stop procrastinating.

You don’t have to look too hard to find information suggesting how procrastination can have adverse effects on your life. If there is so much information supporting this claim, then why do we procrastinate? Well, there are many reasons why people procrastinate. For example, we may put things off because we don’t enjoy doing these things. Maybe we think if we can’t do it perfect we may as well not do it at all.

Or maybe there is a belief in us that we just don't have the ability to complete whatever task that is set before us. Whatever your reason for procrastinating, it is very important that you identify why you consistently do things at the last minute or completely put it off altogether.

Once you figure out why you put things off, you will be in a better position to come up with a solution to your procrastination problems. If you do not deal with your problem of procrastination it may be life altering, and not for the better.

By ignoring this issue, you will do a great disservice to yourself, especially considering there are so many ways you can overcome procrastination. Procrastination is a habit, and like any other habit it can be broken.

If you don't break your procrastination habit, it can have serious consequences on your life and the lives of those who you care about. Also, if it goes unchecked, procrastination may affect your mental and physical health.

Funny What is Procrastination Video

Start Thinking About Ways To Overcome Procrastination

Now that you have an answer to the question what is procrastination, the next logical questions is. What are some steps to begin your journey to overcoming procrastination?

There are many things to do; the steps can range from doing a little bit of self analysis to getting therapy. For some, they will have to come to grips with the fact that there are emotional links between the things they put off and their inability to confront those things. They will need to spend time doing some self evaluating and really questioning their feelings and actions toward the task.

Some of us are perfectionist, those of us who are, we must realize that we cannot and will not do everything perfect. Don’t put that type of stress on yourself, it is bad and it doesn’t help accomplish anything! Also, understand that your self esteem will not be diminished in anyway if you recognize that there are things in life that you are not good at or just don't really care to deal with.

Take the challenge of organizing your finances for instance; if you accept the fact that you are not good at balancing the books, you will be able to convince yourself that you need to spend a few extra hours working on that as opposed to spending time worrying about it.

As mentioned above, there is an emotional aspect to procrastination. One of those emotions is fear; if we eliminate fear from equation we are better able to tackle the task.

So the next time you have something you need to do and you start to feel that urge to put it off, don't look for some other random task to do. Stop, step back and assess why it is you need to complete that particular task. After thinking about the job at hand, if you decide that it is important, you may find great comfort in what you stand to gain by getting it done as opposed to procrastinating.

If you know you are procrastinator, the worst thing you can do is nothing. A good thing to do is start doing something; begin putting some type of effort into the job. As you begin your tasks, think about some efficient ways to organize your time as you work.

Be Realistic About Procrastination

Inevitably, there will probably be at least one or two things that you will just put off or not deal with. If you feel like you are pretty good at getting things done and there are a few things that you avoid doing, don't be alarmed as this is not unusual.

In fact, it is pretty normal that people procrastinate over one thing or another. If you procrastinate over a couple things, don't worry as this level or procrastination does not threaten to destroy personal relationships, educational goals, or employment situations. However, this does not mean you don't have to be mindful of procrastination.

In order to stay on track and avoid putting things off, you should exercise good judgment when it comes to time management, time boxing, and the like.

For those of us who procrastinate a bit more profusely, you should again work at this little by little everyday. Each time you work on something you really don’t want to do, acknowledge that accomplishment and give yourself a pat on the back – heck even if you don't completely finish the job tell yourself "good job". Understand that even if you don't finish the job, you made a good start and didn't run from it and that's a victory in itself.

Sign of Something More Serious

Learning how to stop procrastinating may be a more serious problem for some than others. Some of us have deep seeded psychological reasons for either putting things off or not dealing with them.

These reason may manifest themselves as a fear of failure or rejection, which may discourage you from taking action on a specific job. It is probably a tall order to sit and try to identify the reasons we procrastinate, but one thing is for sure, it will really help to spend some time thoroughly thinking about it.

Do this for yourself, and know that you can avoid procrastination and still have time to enjoy doing the things you want to do. Getting a better handle your time management and self management skills is getting a better handle on your life. If time is one of the most important things we have, you should try very hard not to waste it! Hopefully this has provided a pretty in depth introduction to what procrastination is.